Reruns: Seinfeld

Welcome to Reruns. On this segment I will be going into detail on television shows and their impact on pop culture, the general public, and how television is made. On this first installment I'll be discussing arguably the greatest sitcom ever made, and my personal favorite show of all time, Seinfeld.

Seinfeld was created by Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David in the late 80s. The original idea was to follow two stand- up comedians in New York through a normal day in their lives as friends. It would also feature a short stand- up act at the end of each episode which would have material that had to do with the events in the episode. The concept pretty much stayed the same except for the two comedians, it was brought down to just following one comedian and his non show biz friends.

The show debuted in 1989 with the pilot episode "The Seinfeld Chronicles" which was the second idea for the title of the whole series, the first being "Stand- Up". When the pilot aired there was little faith from the network, and Larry David, that it was going to be a success, and it was far from what it would one day become, but it did well enough for NBC to order four more episodes for season one. Hardly an outstanding start but the first season ended up growing a following that started the phenomenon of the series.

The show starred Jerry Seinfeld as himself, Jason Alexander as Jerry's unbelievably selfish and hilarious best friend George Costanza, Julia Louis- Dreyfus as Jerry's ex- girlfriend turned platonic friend Elaine Benes, and Michael Richards as Jerry's wacky "hipster doofus" neighbor Cosmo Kramer. Through out the series there are a couple episodes in which Jerry and Elaine's relationship becomes a bit more intimate but it was only limited to those two episodes.  Eventually Wayne Knight was introduced to the series as a mail man who lives in Jerry's building, Newman. He's also the arch nemesis of Jerry, and my favorite character. Fun- fact: Newman is considered one of the greatest T.V. villains of all time.

Seinfeld is the sitcom that changed sitcoms. For it's time, the subjects it tackled were very controversial. It also was revolutionary for a show to have a story arch that was about the actual creation of the show itself. This happened in season four which is considered the breakout season of the series when it went from being a cult hit to a worldwide phenomenon. This season also included the series most popular episode entitled "The Contest".

"The Contest", arguably the most popular and most controversial, centered around the gang partaking in a contest to see who can go the longest without self pleasuring themselves. The episode itself garnered Larry David an Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a comedy series, and was the most watched episode in syndication when it was first repeated.

 
Another episode from season four called "The Outing" is my personal favorite episode of the entire series. In it, a journalist believes that Jerry and George are gay and publishes the story in the newspaper. It has the funniest lines in the entire series and the scenario is just hilarious. It also utilizes every character in just the right way. I highly suggest the episode if you haven't seen it.

After the series ended it went into syndication where it still stays strong today. Jerry Seinfeld continue to do stand- up comedy and appear every now and than on T.V. in cameo roles. Jason Alexander went on to continue acting in movies, television, and stage plays. Julia Louis- Dreyfus continued a successful career of acting and had another hit show called The New Adventures of Old Christine. Michael Richards attempted to have his own show called The Michael Richards Show but it was unsuccessful and was canceled. He also tried his hand at stand- up comedy but was met with much controversy when he made outlandish and racist comments on stage.

Larry David left the show after season seven but came back every now and then to voice the character of George Steinbrenner and write the finale. In 1999 he made an HBO special called Curb Your Enthusiasm which shortly after airing was turned into a show. Curb is still on the air and has had eight successful seasons. It is expected to come back for a ninth season, perhaps it's last, but that is up to Larry David.

Seinfeld went on to have nine seasons, in total, and win 3 Golden Globes and 10 Prime-time Emmys in it's entire run. The show is now recognized by many as one of the best shows, if not the best, of all time and it is shown at least seven times a day on various channels in syndication. It's a cherished show by many and is my personal favorite show of all time.

Thank you for joining me in this installment of Reruns. Tune in next time when we dive into the show that followed the exploits of one of the most beloved Jersey citizens of all time, Tony Soprano.